Staff shortages are one of the major issues affecting business confidence at the moment. Photo / Getty Images
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
New Zealand
The NZX 50 closed 0.5 per cent higher yesterday, likely impacted by Cabinet's decision to lift all self-isolation requirements from 3 March for fully vaccinated travellers returning and travelling to NZ.
The top performer of the day was Tourism Holdings, rising 6.1 per cent. Agribusiness Scales Corporation increased 5.0 per cent on what appears to be no news. Ryman Healthcare gained 4.9 per cent.
On the flip side was yesterday's bottom performer, Property for Industry, falling 2.9 per cent.
Road charging and services provider EROAD declined 2.8 per cent to continue its downward trend since September 2021. NZX Limited (operator of New Zealand's stock exchange) lost a further 2.8 per cent since releasing their financial year 2021 results on 17 February.
Restaurant Brands New Zealand declared its first dividend since 2018 after sales increased 19.7 per cent from full-year 2020 to reach just over $1.0 billion. Restaurant Brands declined 0.1 per cent yesterday.
Genesis Energy reported its performance in the first half of fiscal year 2022, with earnings before interest, tax, amortisation, depreciation, and fair value movements (EBITDAF) of $210.3 million and net profit of $84.7 million - 63 per cent higher than last year. Genesis Energy fell 0.9 per cent yesterday.
In macroeconomic news, ANZ's Business Outlook survey showed a knock to New Zealand's business confidence, dropping 28 points. This might be due to businesses expecting negative implications from inflation, as well as potential staffing shortages as NZ is impacted by Omicron. There were more than 80,000 active COVID-19 cases across the country yesterday.
Air New Zealand's international fares are set to increase by an average of 5.0 per cent, due to the rising cost of fuel and inflation.
Additionally, Westpac announced its plan to sell all Russian investments and divest all government bonds related to Russia.
Both Kiwibank and Bank of New Zealand have raised floating mortgage rates following last week's 25 basis points Official Cash Rate (OCR) increase, likely putting pressure on the property sector.
International
US
Last week, the major US indices initially dropped before recovering in the final days of trading. Overall, the S&P 500 was flat, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7 per cent, and the NASDAQ increased 0.5 per cent.
On Tuesday morning, the S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5 per cent. The NASDAQ increased by 0.4 per cent.
The energy sector performed the best, increasing 2.0 per cent, at the time of writing. Other sectors that experienced increases included consumer discretionary and industrial, both up 0.3 per cent. Consumer staples and real estate dropped by 1.7 and 1.6 per cent, respectively.
Occidental Petroleum increased 10.5 per cent, making it the best performer of the index. The company conducts oil exploration and production in the United States, Middle East and Africa. Returning to a mid-February price, the developing pressures in Russia's gas and oil industry likely contributed to the increase.
SolarEdge Technologies was up 10.0 per cent. The solar photovoltaic system solutions provider was the leading solar company today, continuing a strong performance from solar seen late last week.
Another solar technology company, Enphase Energy, rose 7.0 per cent. Last week, record adjusted earnings were reported at 73 cents per share, exceeding estimates of 58 cents. Revenue came in at US$412.7 million, ahead of expectations of approximately US$397 million.
The largest decliner at the time of writing was software developer Epam Systems, down 32.3 per cent. This fall was likely sparked by Epam Systems announcing a withdrawal of its first quarter guidance and 2022 financial outlook, which was in response to increasing uncertainties caused by military action in Ukraine. This brings Epam systems to a total decline of more than 60 per cent since the start of the year.
Healthcare company Viatris fell 22.4 per cent. This drop was a potential result of Viatris selling its assets rights to Indian-based biopharmaceutical company Biocon for US$3.3 billion. Biocon now have full control of the company's ongoing cash flow, where previously they only received 33 per cent. Following the announcement of the acquisition, Biocon dropped 11.6 per cent.
Rounding out the bottom three movers was dental product and technology manufacturer Dentsply, with a decline of 7.7 per cent. This followed their 2021 fourth-quarter profit and sales announcement, and 2022 outlook, which both missed market expectations.
Rest of the World
Asian markets showed mixed performance overnight. The Shanghai Composite increased 0.3 per cent, the Nikkei rose 0.2 per cent, and the Hang Seng decreased by 0.2 per cent.
European markets were in the red, likely due to uncertainty over the impact of increasingly strict sanctions on Russia. The FTSE fell 0.4 per cent, the DAX decreased 0.7 per cent and the CAC lost 1.4 per cent.
European nations, the U.S. and Canada have agreed to remove some of Russia's largest banks from SWIFT. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication is a messaging system facilitating international payments. A country's removal from SWIFT would heavily restrict their involvement in global financial markets.
Following the imposition of these sanctions, ATMs across Moscow were reportedly running out of cash.
Russia's central bank has more than doubled its key interest rate to 20.0 per cent from 9.5 per cent, a response in part due to recent depreciation of Russia's currency, the Ruble, and liquidity issues. Russian equity and derivative markets have been closed for the time being.
Commodities
Gold and silver saw increases of 0.7 and 1.5 per cent, respectively. Both are still 4.0 per cent down from their high last week.
At the time of writing, oil increased 5.0 per cent to US$96.18 per barrel. This brings oil prices to a total increase of over 20 per cent since the start of the year.
The board of BP announced the exit of its almost 20 per cent shareholding in Russian oil company Rosneft. BP's financial frame and distributed guidance remains unchanged.
In cryptocurrencies, both Bitcoin and Ethereum were in the green, with Bitcoin increasing 4.4 per cent and Ethereum up 1.0 per cent.
The US 10-year treasury rate dropped 11 basis points to 1.872 per cent alongside an eight basis point fall in the 30-year rate. These drops are most likely due to investors desiring assets that could be seen as 'safer', such as US treasury bonds, in response to the developments in Ukraine.
Australia
The ASX 200 rallied to finish up 0.7 per cent at 7,049.10 points.
Eight of the 11 sectors closed in the green. Materials was the best performing sector, increasing 3.0 per cent. Energy and real estate investment also finished strong, recording gains of 1.4 and 1.0 per cent, respectively.
The bottom moving sectors were led by information technology, which declined 0.6 per cent against the run of play. The financial sector also lost ground (-0.3 per cent), remaining the biggest underperformer over the last week (-5.2 per cent).
Blackmores Limited led the index higher, increasing 9.7 per cent to A$82.65. The health supplements company recovered a portion of its losses from last week. Blackmores remains down 9.7 per cent year to date.
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals traded favourably with a gain of 8.1 per cent. The company bounced back to a closing price of A$20.17 following a 12-month low of A$18.27 recorded last Thursday. Clinuvel's CEO penned a letter to shareholders yesterday commenting on the company's half year results and subsequent fall in share price.
Mining company Lynas Rare Earths rounded out the single stock outperformers with a gain of 6.9 per cent.
The biggest fall in the ASX 200 was location-based software services provider Life360 (-8.9 per cent). After last week's increase the company is back in the red.
Life360's share price decrease might be attributable to concerns recently raised about Apple's location tracking device, AirTag, which is a rival product to Life360's Tile. These issues relate to claims that AirTag's have been used to stalk people. The CEO of Life360, Chris Hull, noted that Tile sales numbers have already been impacted by the news about the privacy concerns and stalking risks. He suspects the company will likely face an unfavourable attitude-shift concerning location-based technology.
Rounding out the single stock bottom movers was fintech Institution Tyro Payments (-5.5 per cent) and debt collecting company Credit Corp Group (-4.7 per cent).
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